The Seattle Times reports that the jury in the Schierman quadruple murder case has found the defendant guilty of four counts of aggravated murder.

A King County jury on Monday found Conner Schierman guilty of the July 2006 murders of four members of a Kirkland family.

Jurors had been deliberating since Friday morning before finding Schierman guilty of four counts of aggravated murder in the deaths of Olga Milkin, 28, her sons Justin, 5, and Andrew, 3, and Milkin's sister, Lyubov Botvina, 24. Schierman was also convicted of one count of first-degree arson for setting the Milkins' home ablaze after the slayings.

The same jury will now decide whether Schierman, 28, should be executed or face life in prison without parole. Testimony in the penalty phase of the trial is set to begin on Thursday.

Courtroom observers said the relatively quick verdict, coming after less than a day and a half of deliberations, may not bode well for defense attorneys who will now try to save Schierman from execution.